Los futuros/as del golf

 

 Steven Fox

El estadounidense Steven Fox se coronó campeón del US Amateur 2012 tras derrotar el domingo a su compatriota Michael Weaver en 37 hoyos de dura lucha en el Cherry Hills Country Club en Colorado.

Fox, de 21 años y en su última temporada en la Universidad de Tennessee, embocó un putt para birdie de cinco metros para quedarse con el título. El ganador concretó una espectacular remontada, ya que se encontraba dos abajo con dos hoyos por jugar.

 

 

Andy Zhang, 14 años clasifica para jugar el U.S. OPEN 2012

Age: 14

Hometown: Kissimmee, Fla. (originally from Beijing)

School: Online high school

The skinny: Andy Zhang earned a spot in the U.S. Open after Paul Casey withdrew with an injury on Monday afternoon in San Francisco. Zhang was the second alternate - behind Jordan Spieth - after losing in a playoff to Brooks Koepka at a sectional qualifier in Lecanto, Fla. Zhang plays out of Reunion Resort in Kissimmee, Fla., where he is coached by Andrew Park. Originally from Beijing, Zhang has lived in the United States since he was 10 and has won a pair of junior titles over the past four years.

 

 

Beau Hossler

Age: 17

Height: 5-11

Weight: 165

Hometown: Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

School: Santa Margarita High School

The skinny: Hossler is making a second consecutive Open, giving him more experience at this championship than some of the PGA Tour players in the field. He shot 76-77 to miss last year’s cut. He finished second June 6 at the California state championship, just two days after he qualified for this year’s Open. He’s No. 3 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Rankings and has made a verbal commitment to NCAA champion Texas for the 2013-14 campaign.

He's used to qualifying for USGA championships at an early age. He played in the 2009 U.S. Amateur as an eighth grader.

 

Patrick Cantlay

Age: 20

Hometown: Los Alamitos, Calif.

College: UCLA

The skinny: Cantlay is the only amateur who didn’t have to qualify for this year’s Open. He was exempt as the winner of last year’s Mark H. McCormack medal, given to the No. 1 player in the R&A World Amateur Rankings, and for his runner-up at the 2011 U.S. Amateur. Cantlay is trying to earn U.S. Open low-amateur honors for the second consecutive year, and top-amateur honors in a third consecutive major. He was T-47 at this year’s Masters and is coming off a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championship two weeks ago. He shot a tournament-low 66 in the final round at Riviera. He was 11th in this season’s Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings after ranking first last year.

On March 23, 2011 he become world number 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He holds the records for most consecutive weeks at number one and most total weeks at number one with 54 and 55 weeks repectively.

In June 2012, Cantlay decided to forgo his final two years of college to turn professional.^[7] The decision to go professional meant forfeiting his spot at the 2012 Open Championship. His professional debut was at the 2012 Travelers Championship, where he missed the cut. Prior to the Travelers, Cantlay announced he would be signing with Mark Steinberg and Excel Sports Management Group the same management as Tiger Woods. Cantlay was the number one amateur in the world before turning pro, holding the top spot for a record 55 weeks.

Lydia Ko

                  ganó el Canadian Women's Open el domingo para convertirse en la más joven ganadora en la historia del LPGA Tour y apenas la quinta jugadora amateur que gana un torneo.

La sudcoreana de 15 años, residente de Nueva Zelanda, cerró su participación con una vuelta de 67 golpes, 5 bajo par, para lograr el triunfo por tres golpes. Ko rompió el récord establecido por Lexi Thompson en septiembre pasado cuando ganó el Navistar LPGA Classic en Alabama a los 16 años y es la primera ganadora amateur desde JoAnne Carner en el Burdine's Invitational de 1969.

En enero, Ko ganó el New South Wales Open en Australia a los 14 para convertirse en la jugadora más joven en ganar un evento profesional, una marca quebrada por Brooke Henderson, de 14, en junio en un evento del Canadian Women's Tour en Quebec. Ko ganó además el U.S. Women's Amateur hace dos semanas en Cleveland.

Ko terminó con 275 golpes, 13 bajo par, en el Vancouver Golf Club, escapándose con birdies en cinco de los primeros seis hoyos en los nueve de vuelta. Dos rondas de 68 y una de 72 el sábado le dieron un golpe de ventaja de cara a la vuelta decisiva el domingo.

Inbee Park firmó un 69 para terminar segunda.

La campeona del U.S. Women's Open Na Yeon Choi, Chella Choi y Jiyai Shin terminaron empatados en 8 bajo par.